The City of Dunwoody reached out to Governor Nathan Deal to request that Wednesday, March 6th be set aside to especially honor the men and woman of Georgia who work tirelessly to make sure that our children make it safely to school. In the photo, Governor Deal is joined by myself, Representative Tom Taylor, Crossing Guard Larry Adams who works at Dunwoody Elementary School, Crossing Guard Supervisor Joanne Adams, staff from the Georgia Safe Routes to Schools program and my son Riley who was serving as a page in the State Senate.

Wednesday, March 6th, is "Georgia Walk to School Day" with thousands of extra children hitting the streets so this tie in to honor those who serve is a natural extension of the day. This is a statewide event, and each of Dunwoody's elementary schools - Austin, Chesnut, Dunwoody Elementary, Kingsley and Vanderlyn - will be hosting a walk/bike to school event on this day as part of its walk to school program. For the second consecutive year, Dunwoody's schools have staged a friendly competition - they will be competing for "The Golden Sneaker of Dunwoody" - awarded to the school with the highest percentage of walkers. Last year Kingsley Elementary had 97% of their students walking and they
just edged out Austin Elementary where 92% of their students walked.

Please assist me spreading the word of "School Crossing Guard Appreciation Day" throughout the State, your local school system and your children's school. Finally on Wednesday, March 6th please walk your children to school and thank those who make it safe to do so. They deserve it.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

At the State of the City Address, Mayor Mike Davis announced that safety improvements will be made around Dunwoody schools. At this evenings City Council Meeting the Mayor announced that at the March work session, the City Council will be discussing adding missing sidewalks like the one on Hensley Drive shown above as well as contemplate other safety improvements that are needed around our schools.

The City Council pulled $700,000 of funding off the Womack / Vermack roundabout and those funds are are sitting in reserves until needed. It appears that the final roundabout design will not be brought back to Council until late in the year therefore a portion of those funds could be used for the Mayor's announced safety improvements.

Besides looking at crosswalks, school signage and lighting systems should be reviewed and upgraded as needed to the 2013 standards from the 1960 standards when they were first installed. I believe HAWK beacons may be needed at several specific crosswalks located on heavily traveled streets and we will be looking for location recommendations from the Public Works Department, the School PTA's and the general public.

Watch the video. Where would you like to see these devices installed? Near Schools like Mt Vernon at Stratham near Vanderlyn, Chesnut Crosswalk on North Peachtree, Chamblee Dunwoody at Redfield near Austin, or maybe on other high traffic areas away from standard traffic lights like Mt Vernon near the Branches, Chamblee Dunwoody at Kings Down or Tilly Mill at Stonington or Andover Rd's.

Where are the highest needs and where would you like to see improvements?

Dunwoody residents interested in improving the quality of education
in Dunwoody schools will share information on accreditation, legislative
efforts, alternatives to the current public school district, and
potential actions. The presentation will feature representatives from
city and state government, local public education advocates, and a
discussion session for participants to share their ideas and concerns.

In February 2013, volunteers throughout the United States will participate in B’nai B’rith’s annual “Cares for Kids” Drive. In past years, this program has given away more than 15,000 stuffed animals to children in hospitals, schools and shelters here in Atlanta and many more across the country.

B’Nai Brith is the first and oldest Jewish service organization in the U.S. They provide assistance to people around the world and support a variety of community service programs, including projects in schools, disaster relief, senior citizen housing, and youth development and education. Help is given to people or institutions in need irrespective of ethnicity, race or religion... This “Care for Kids” program is one of its leading community service projects in the United States.

Jerry Kravitz, “Cares for Kids” Project Chairperson for B’nai B’rith’s Achim/Gate City Lodge in Atlanta, can be justifiably proud of the resounding success of this program. Speaking about “Cares for Kids,” Chairperson Kravitz commented: “Few things make a child smile as much as a cuddly stuffed animal. There are no words to describe how the children’s faces light up when we present them with their new furry friends.”

In January, February and half of March, 2013, boxes will be distributed to schools, houses of worship and other facilities throughout the area. Achim/Gate City Lodge members will be collecting new and gently used stuffed animals as well as obtaining monetary contributions to enable the purchase of additional animals.

Following the collection drive Achim/Gate City Lodge volunteers will personally distribute stuffed animals to children in schools, shelters and day care centers in the Atlanta area.

In speaking about the “Cares for Kids” Program, Rhonda Love, Director of the B’Nai B’rith Center for Community Action in Washington, D.C., explained: “It is a way of telling these kids that we are proud of them. Any kid who is having a hard time needs to be reminded that the world cares about them.”

Cindy has boxes in the Kroger, Chamblee Dunwoody/285 store (at check out), as well as in the office of Seiden Chiropractic Center at 1713 Mt. Vernon Rd. Ste #2.

On behalf of the less fortunate kids in the city, we thank you so very much for your generosity. We do this every year so don’t hesitate to contact Cindy if you have some to donate during the year.

Chesnut Charter Elementary School parents, please plan to attend this
free safety presentation at 6:00PM on Tuesday February 19, 2013.

Why and How To Talk With Your Children About Guns (Even If You Don’t Own Guns)

Dozens of children are killed and dozens or hundreds more are injured in firearms-related accidents in the United States each year. With between a third and a half of American households containing a gun, guns present as much a risk to children's safety as prescription drugs, swimming pools, electrical outlets, and crossing the street. Most firearms-related accidents involving children can be avoided. In the same way that parents teach their children about those other risks, so we should educate their children about the risks guns pose and how to avoid them. This applies equally to parents who own guns and parents who do not.

This brief multimedia presentation provides parents with specific talking points and pointers to educational resources they can use to discuss this challenging and difficult topic for three different age groups - preschool to third grade, fourth to sixth grades, and seventh grade and up.

Please note this presentation date is for Chesnut Charter Elementary School parents. If you would like to bring this free child safety presentation to your school, house of worship, or community association, please contact the author of this post.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Many
of you, especially those with children in DeKalb public schools have
contacted me asking how you can participate in what is currently
happening with our school system. The fact that SACS has placed the
entire DeKalb School system on academic probation, which is only one
step from loss of accreditation, is very serious. For more on this,
please read my op-ed in the Dunwoody Crier here:http://www.thecrier.net/our_columnists/article_c1eeb360-535e-11e2-8e0d-0019bb2963f4.html

I
recommend that if you feel so inclined, please write a personal letter
to Governor Deal and/or the Georgia State Board of Education. Emails are
fine, but a personal letter, hand delivered by my office to the
Governor or the State BOE guarantees that your thoughts and opinions
land where they need to go.My
Chief of Staff Page Olson will be collecting letters at her home now
through next Tuesday, February 19th. She lives at 1148 Redfield Ridge in
Dunwoody. She'll have a box at the top of her driveway for your to
deposit you letter. Make sure that it is marked to go to either Governor
Deal, the State BOE or both. I'll hand deliver to both offices on
Wednesday morning the 20th.You
are all encouraged to come down to the Sloppy Floyd building, 20th
floor (across from the Capitol) next Thursday, February 21st at 8am to
witness the hearing between our DeKalb BOE and the State Board. You will
need a photo ID to get in. If you can't be there in person, watch it
streamed live on the Department of Education website:http://www.gadoe.org/External-Affairs-and-Policy/State-Board-of-Education/Pages/Live-Webcasts.aspx

Contact my office at any time should you have questions. Respectfully,Tom TaylorState Representative, District 79Office 404.656.0152

Take-out is available but come join in the fun by taking the entire family out for a
great meal.

All Saints Catholic Church - Gym

Tonight from 5 pm to 8 pm

2443 Mount Vernon Road

Dunwoody, GA 30338

This year, in order to allow an expanded dining area the fish dinners
will be offered in the Gym which is accessible in the lower parking lot
at the back of the property. The parking spots near the gym will be
reserved for take-out patrons, the elderly and infirm who can’t walk
far. Below is a menu and I hope to see you there as it is quite a community social gathering.

Monday, February 11, 2013

My son Declan, age 7, a first grader at Chesnut Charter Elementary walks about two
blocks to school every day with a fourth grade neighbor. Thursday morning
about 7:15 am (15 min before sunrise) it was a foggy morning with a slight
drizzle so Declan was wearing his bright Red rain coat. The kids walked
down North Peachtree Rd to Chesnut. Crossing
guard Ms. Lorraine Knox assembled a few children at the crosswalk in front of the
school, stopped North Bound traffic with her Double Sided Lit Stop Sign and there was no South
Bound traffic to stop.

Kids crossed under the supervision of Ms. Knox who was standing
in the middle of the road with her lit stop sign and Declan was the last child to go
across. At this point a vehicle coming Southbound was heading towards the
Chesnut crosswalk without acknowledging Ms. Knox’s stop sign
nor having any intention to stop and she then she took it upon herself to push my son Declan out of the way of the large pickup truck. Declan’s rolling backpack was hit and dragged 10 feet down the road.

The driver, Mr. Henry G. Skelton of Sandy Springs pulled over,
saw that no one was hurt and the Principal Veronica Williams escorted him to the office so he could provide his driver’s license and a
phone number. After the license was copied, Mr. Skelton was in a hurry so he decided to be on his way.

I was getting ready for work when the call from the school came
in, I rushed over, verified Declan’s well being and called the police as they
had not yet been contacted. The next hour was mostly spent being a wall
flower in the Principal’s office where I listened to the details of what
happened as the Dunwoody Police and the DeKalb County School Police questioned
Ms. Knox, Ms. Williams and others. Knowing that Declan was
fine, I actually spent most of my time worrying about Ms. Knox, reassuring her
and providing numerous hugs as she was physically shaken by the
incident. That evening Principal Williams notified the entire Chesnut community of the incident in an email and asked that we all be advocates for safe driving in our school zone.

By all accounts, Ms. Knox saved my son Declan’s life and the Heneghan
family will be forever grateful!

I have been a proponent of traffic safety, especially around schools and through residential zones for a long time and believe that more still needs to be done to secure our children's well being. I will be asking the City of Dunwoody to work very closely with the DeKalb County School System and the various Parent Teacher Associations to do a full analysis of each school and then install the best in class infrastructure suited to each school's needs as well as provide further education to all involved.

I am not sure if any real infrastructure improvement would have stopped this specific incident but we as a community have the responsibility to try. My possible suggestions or next steps to stop this accident or other accidents from
being repeated are as follows. Please feel free to comment or email me with more.

The South bound school zone flashing light showing that the school speed zone is in effect on North Peachtree is
located almost two blocks away from Chesnut at Riverglenn and I believe that
distance needs to be shortened by placing another Flashing School Zone light
system before Peachford, most likely near North Peachtree Court. North
Bound may not need another notice as PCMS is served by a traffic light and
visibility is much better. I do not believe that there is a School Zone flashing light system on Peachfrord and this needs to be reviewed.

The crosswalk
indicators that have been placed in between the two rows of traffic may be ineffective as they are routinely hit and knocked out of place. On
Thursday, the date of the incident the sign was not in place at Chesnut and honestly it
wouldn’t have been much of a help if it had. At my Monday night Dunwoody
City Council meeting I will be returning the last two signs that were placed at
Chesnut as they aren’t doing anything productive being propped up against the school building near
the front door of the school.

I will be suggesting that all major roadway crosswalks serving
Dunwoody schools be outfitted with HAWK lights and/or
the in ground
crosswalk lights I suggested for a possible new crosswalk at Tilly
Mill and Stonington. (On related news, I talked to Mr. Bob Lundsten who
is Elaine Boyer’s Chief of Staff and he will be exploring more options with the City of Doraville in order to get the cross walk on Tilly Mill installed).

On Wednesday, the day before the incident I was tasked to be the
"walking school bus driver" for my neighborhood walk to school day and on my walk
to school with a group of children I noticed that the four foot wide sidewalks on
North Peachtree Road are not wide enough to allow a parent and a child to walk
side by side without someone being in the grass or terribly close to the
street. I would like to see the sidewalks around all Dunwoody
schools evaluated for proper width and safety and where possible I would like them
widened where numerous children walk. I would also like the
curb height evaluated near schools as the granite curbs on N. Peachtree (and many other places) are
woefully inadequate to stop a car from rolling on to a sidewalk.

I would like to see standardized, highly reflective crossing
guard uniforms and devices for all Dunwoody crossing guards. I
would like to see assertiveness training as well as a refresher course for all
Crossing Guards on an annual basis and then make sure that each guard is evaluated
by a supervisor at least once per quarter of the school year. I would like to see an educational program by both the schools and the city on traffic and bike safety to educate our children.

I would like each PTA as well as the Dunwoody Community in general to start planning for
Wednesday May 1st which is national crossing guard appreciation day. Though I am not sure I want to wait that long to honor Ms. Knox and the other dedicated crossing guards; I want this to be a yearly Dunwoody event.

Please slow down in our school zones and know the 25 miles per hour speed limit is the maximum speed allowed and that slower is also acceptable.Thanks.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

If you find
this email to be of interest, please forward it to your friends and
neighbors. If you received a forwarded copy and wish to subscribe, please
email me at terry.nall@dunwoodyga.gov.

Dunwoody Village Parkway

Despite my efforts to pass
an alternative plan, the majority of Council (vote 5-2) concluded the
existing parkway plan approved by the 2011 Council is best for Dunwoody's
future. This was after careful research and deliberation by my fellow
Council Members. The deliberation phase of this project is now over and it
is time for implementation. Because of grant funds will subsidize the
city's cost, many administrative details are now underway. Construction is
tentatively expected for this August, which will avoid the Dunwoody's
Independence Day parade.

Brook Run Multi-Purpose Trail

The Dekalb Superior Court
injunction that halted this trail construction was lifted by the presiding
judge on February 4. The homeowners' lawsuit may continue, but the burden
of demonstrating irreparable damages by the trail was not met by the
plaintiffs, as determined by the judge. Construction will resume as soon as
the contractor re-mobilizes the crew, which is expected mid-February.

I attended each day of the
court hearings in order to hear the evidence and arguments of the
plaintiffs, as well as hear greater detail from the city's engineers and
trail consultants. Every design feature of the trail has a specific
rationale behind it. This includes having the trail compliant with the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in order to make the trail available
to those with disabilities, limited mobility, or other hindrances not faced
by able-bodied persons. The final design also allows access by emergency
vehicles when needed.

In contrast, the
alternative trail design preferred by those who signed a noted petition for
presentation to City Council erroneously does not result in ADA compliance
and thus, excludes park amenity access by disabled and limited mobility
citizens. Some signers noted that they preferred a mulch trail to any paved
surface. This would also preclude families with strollers or families
with bicycles from enjoying this park amenity.

I do not support citizen
exclusivity. Dunwoody is better than that. Our park amenities should be
available to all citizens, not just the able-bodied. The petitioners'
approach also prevents access by emergency vehicles. All it takes is one
medical emergency where the window of survivability is critical and the
current trail design will prove invaluable. As with the Dunwoody Village
Parkway, the deliberation phase of this project is over and now is time for
implementation.

This past week, the city
released an update on the trail that contains the latest information and
rationale. I encourage you to read it, as it contains excellent up-to-date
information. The release is at this web link: Updated Info About Brook Run Multi-Purpose Trail

False Alarm Ordinance

Council approved the city's
first False Alarm Ordinance that affects businesses and residents with
alarm company monitored alarm systems. For the last four years, Dunwoody
paid the price for having no policy about false alarms. Each year, our
police respond to over 4,000 false alarms, which is an average of over 80
per week. This is excessive. We have a modest-sized police force and false
alarms tie up officers who would otherwise by available for 911
calls. False alarms are avoidable with intentional system
maintenance and attentiveness by alarm owners. Implementation details for
the new ordinance will be forthcoming when implementation begins in a few
months.

Intersection Improvements

This is a key priority for
me. We must ease our intersection congestion as the city population
continues to grow and more vehicles are added to our streets. Each
intersection project takes an estimated 18-24 months for the entire
timeline of preliminary design, final design, bids, easements and right of
way acquisition, and finally construction.

The intersection
improvement for Tilly Mill, N. Peachtree, and Peeler is now underway with
easements and right of way work. Construction is expected to begin either
late 2013 or early 2014.

The Vermack/Womack
intersection remains in the design phase to incorporate the issues raised
during public and neighborhood meetings, as well as other public input
received. These two intersections are our first to be considered as we seek
to improve 1-2 intersections each year under our "pay-as-you-go"
policy.

With the arrival of 2013,
two new intersection improvements to start the conceptual design process
include Mt. Vernon at Vermack and Chamblee-Dunwoody at Spalding.

2013 Street Paving

Bids have not been
received, but the preliminary list of summer road paving and related
improvements from our prioritized paving list include the below listed
streets. Once bids are received and reviewed, Council will then decide if
the below list should be adjusted under our "pay-as-you-go"
policy:

The City of Dunwoody is embarking on Project Renaissance, a residential redevelopment project in the Georgetown area of Dunwoody. This redevelopment project is a public-private partnership between the City of Dunwoody and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods. As part of that project, the City has developed plans and intends to select a qualified contractor for the two new public parks and multi-purpose trail to be constructed on the 16-acre portion of land between Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Dunwoody Park.
The two public parks will consist of new restrooms, park structures, play areas, seating areas and new lawn, landscaping and irrigation. Landscaping will consist of new turf areas, ground covers and grasses, various deciduous and evergreen shrubs, accent trees and shade trees. The selected contractor will be responsible for providing a one year warranty period from date of planting completion on all the landscape plant material installed. The multi-purpose trail, linking both parks, will be a 12’ wide concrete trail to match the trail that the City is installing in nearby Brook Run Park.

The parks and trail are to be constructed on land previously slated for a townhome development, and as such, there currently exists on site roads, curbs, modular block retaining walls, a variety of utilities and drainage lines and structures. The proposed park improvements includes earthwork, existing retaining wall removal/replacement, water and sewer connections, electrical service, as well as stormwater drainage as part of the civil scope

The Chamblee-Dunwoody Family Park improvements include terraced grading with low granite seat walls, and the playground area utilizes a porous poured-in-place play surface and perforated pipe under drain system to collect all rain runoff. A new parking area is proposed and will be provided with associated storm drainage. There is a proposed bathroom building with domestic water and sewer connections as well as an irrigation meter with irrigation system. The existing failing large modular block retaining wall is to be removed, re-graded and replaced with a planted slope.

The Central Square Park improvements include new angled parking around the perimeter, a large central pavilion, a new restroom and storage building, a linear plaza space with low granite seat walls and a decorative fountain, two bocce courts and associated concrete sidewalks and the 12’ wide concrete multi-purpose trail. The Central Square Park modifies the existing grades to create terrace levels, large open playfields and as a result, there are low granite seat walls with ramps to access the main central pavilion providing an amphitheater area to the southeast. It also has a proposed restroom and storage building and as a result has both water and sewer connections. The civil design proposes perforated pipe underdrains under the porous bocce courts and yard inlets throughout the grassed play areas. Existing drain inlet tops are both adjusted to grade and converted to grate inlets due to the relocation of the curb around the proposed park improvements. In addition there are two irrigation meters in this area, one for the irrigation system and one for the decorative fountain. The restroom and storage building, the large pavilion and other areas of the park will require electrical service for decorative and security lighting and electrical outlets.

The proposed concrete multi-purpose trail starts at Chamblee Dunwoody Road and runs for approximately 1,700 LF down to the corner of North Shallowford Road and Dunwoody Park. One exercise station along the trail will have outdoor equipment and the trail will also feature landscaping and irrigation to provide a linear park feel.

My personal preference for the 15 acre GoldKist property (if the 1970's corporate office complex is no longer viable) would be a small Convention Center / Hotel complex at the location, or nearby, to tie into Marta and future hotels as I believe convention floor space is lacking in the Top End. I understand the traffic issue but also believe the new flyover bridge of Perimeter Center Pky could be utilized in the design and possibly someday feed 285 with the redesign of the 285/400 corridor.

I am proud that Mayor Davis is willing to float ideas to improve the city and I truly encourage my fellow elected officials and all citizens to do the same. Not every idea can a winner and I don't have enough information to judge this one, but why not throw it out there for public review? Leaders have vision and are willing to do that as well as listen to ideas that differ from their own.

More important than long range city planning, I believe public safety is government's number one responsibility and I can tell you we take that charge seriously. The idea of tornado sirens has been broached in the past but Council has passed on the idea due to cost, implementation and the now prevalence of double pane insulated glass which would muffle the sirens. Instead Dunwoody hopes that everyone is registered with DeKalb County Code Red for their emergency notification service as well as heeds all other public weather notifications given by the media. Other than sirens and encouraging personal readiness, the city staff has been exploring what to do as far as emergency shelters, in case they were ever needed. Ms. Pattie Baker has been pushing this idea and we are exploring options with the schools and the college, but with the city government not owning any newly constructed public city buildings like a police station or city hall, our options are limited. Other options like agreements with hotels might be possible but are still being explored.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Please post them. Are you ready for the next big storm?

Heneghan Philosophy on Public Service

As a long time resident of the Dunwoody North community who created this blog to fulfill two ideals. First is that when I have the ability to make a difference, I have a responsibility to do so and second, transparency in Government breeds self-corrective behavior.

After the creation of the City of Dunwoody which I worked to establish, I stepped down from being the President of the Dunwoody North Civic Association to run for a seat on the new City Council. Since my election in 2008, I have prided myself of posting every public document and agenda item to this blog for all to see.